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Staff Spotlight: Aaron Miller

Staff Spotlight: Aaron Miller

Feb 18, 2021 | Featured Posts, School Blog | 0 comments

 

We created a Staff Spotlight series to bring recognition of the many amazing guides and administrators while connecting with them in a personal way.

This month, we honor:

Aaron Miller

 

Aaron is from Mentor-on-the-Lake and now resides in Painesville. He attended John Carroll University and Lake Erie College earning a degree in History. He was a two-sport athlete at JCU playing baseball and basketball. Aaron is in his eighteenth year with the United States Coast Guard now serving as a reserve at Station Cleveland Harbor, Ohio.

Aaron was led to Hershey by other staff members whom he admires. Those staff members trusted Aaron and saw the gifts and talents he possesses as traits that would be a great contribution to the Hershey adolescent community. For the past two years Aaron worked part-time at our Middle School teaching Humanities and Physical Expression. This year, he is a full-time guide and classroom assistant at the Middle School. 

Aaron is a valued member of our Hershey family. We invite you to get to know him.

 

Tell us about your family:

I’m married to Michelle Miller. Our oldest son, Ethan, is 11 years old.  We have nine-year-old twins, Jonathan (Johnny Boy) and Alec. We have a dog named Chewy, a cat named May-May, a Beta fish named Bubbles, and two Hermit crabs.

 

What brought you to Hershey?

It was my wife, Michelle, and [staff members] Tania and Judy. Once I started working here, I could see really quickly how the environment was positive, open, and exciting. You don’t see that many places, let alone in a school setting.

 

Aaron Miller engages student in “Rock, Paper, Scissors” during first day of school activities.

What is your favorite Hershey memory?

Personally – getting hired full time.

With the students – challenging them during projects and watching them grow through them. Competing with the students during Physical Expression is one of my favorites each week. The different hikes, playing sports against each other, or building shelters are great. Those activities have already produced so many good memories.

On the farm – working with the animals and working the gardens. Making friends with Clay [the horse] was a great memory; so was the time he almost ran me down. 🙂

 

What is your favorite place to go?

Caribbean Islands – mainly St. Thomas and St. Johns. Locally, I’d say our fishing cabin in Potter, Pennsylvania.

 

What is your favorite thing to do when you are at home?

I like to play sports with my boys, and socialize with family and friends as much as possible.

 

Little known fact?

I like taking care of plants, growing herbs, and bird watching/identifying.

 

Who has made the biggest impact in your life and what does that impact look like?

My parents, my coaches, my friends and family …  they are all different but surrounding myself with positive people has always worked best for me.

 

What is your favorite book?

In the Heart of the Sea by Nathanial Philbrick.

 

What is your favorite quote?

The success you’ve had in the past doesn’t mean anything tomorrow.

 

What is your favorite movie?

A Few Good Men, Caddieshack, and Forrest Gump.

 

How would your friends and family describe you?

Active, spontaneous, sarcastic, a dreamer, a person who does not like the cold, and belongs on the water or at a beach.

 

How would you describe yourself?

A big thinker, traveler, and never at rest with ideas.

 

What is your happiest moment?

Holding my oldest son for the first time.

 

Aaron Miller guides student instruction during outdoor classroom time.

 

Is there anything else you would like to share or let others know?

Success comes from dedicated work. Even though our country seems in chaos, it’s still one of the best places to live on this beautiful planet Earth. I had an admiral tell me when you live in other countries half your life, you realize how much America is like staying at The Ritz.

 

What is one of your biggest life lessons you would like to share with others?

No matter how bad something seems in the moment, the sun will rise tomorrow, and you get to start all over again.

 

Thank you for your work and dedication, Aaron. We appreciate all you do and the energy you bring to our community. We are happy to know you – and to now know you even better!

 

Hershey Montessori School Recognized by You Me Montessori

Hershey Montessori School Recognized by You Me Montessori

Dec 3, 2020 | Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

Hershey Montessori School is being recognized by You Me Montessori in a multi-part series of articles that document our school history and accomplishments. The founders of the organization are from South Africa and the United Kingdom. All currently work in Kuwait in the education field. Their website viewers are from around the world. You can read these articles by clicking on the series title below, or follow our Facebook page to see each article as it is published.

We extend our gratitude to Leon Caesar and his team for their interest in Hershey Montessori School and for their work in sharing Montessori with viewers around the globe.

Hershey Part 1 – Giant Footprints in Cosmic Education: The Journey of Hershey Montessori School

Hershey Part 2 – From Humble Origins to International Renown

Hershey Part 3 – Hershey Montessori School’s Concord Campus

Hershey Part 4 – Introducing The Farm School

Hershey Part 5 – The Cosmic Preparation Of The Huntsburg Campus

Hershey Part 6 – Reach For The Stars And Catch A Dream – The Vital Needs Of The Adolescent

Hershey Part 7 – The Value of Work and Economic Independence 

Hershey Part 8 – Curriculum Frameworks I

Stay tuned for more in this series!

You can learn more about Hershey Montessori here on our website

 

Hershey Montessori Students Hold Multi-School Election Conference

Hershey Montessori Students Hold Multi-School Election Conference

Nov 2, 2020 | Current Parents, Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

Hershey Montessori’s Upper School students recently held an Election Conference as part of their Humanities project. The conference brought students and experts together, virtually, to discuss issues around elections, specifically, reforming the election process and governance.

The students, led by Hershey guides John Buzzard and Jennifer Snead, connected with several adult experts, including Diane Silver from FairVote, an organization that champions electoral reforms to give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Americans; Cyndi Lucas of Citizen Congress, an app that lets users send their views to federal representatives and vote on bills, nominations, and questions introduced in Congress; Drez Jennings, a writer and expert on politics and media; and a former student of Buzzard, Sara Abdul-Rahim, Associate Director of Development at Georgetown University.

Students from Oak Farm Montessori in Indiana, Montessori School of Winston-Salem in North Carolina, and Beacon Academy in Illinois joined Hershey students and these professionals to discuss several areas of interest. Topics included election reform, ranked-choice voting, immigrant voting, felon disenfranchisement and vote by mail.

The conference was a collaborative effort that brought forth several issues that students were able to give voice to and engage in a critical thinking process that allowed them to express their ideas and concerns over the election process and governance.

Students were afforded the opportunity to give presentations that were followed by a question and answer session. A student action panel made up of students from all the schools also discussed how to take action and get their voices heard – a conversation that was facilitated by expert Cyndi Lucas and by Hershey student Kylie Golden-Appleton.

“We were thrilled with the turnout of students from other schools and the passion that they brought. The student action panel allowed the students to connect around their political ideas, and to find a community of young people eager to take political action. It felt like a way to take one of our responses to the COVID pandemic – working virtually – and make it a strength,” said Buzzard.

Hershey is pleased to provide students with experiential education opportunities that provide real-life skills and insights.

Both the students and experts gained better insight into these important, relevant topics and what our next generation of voters can do to improve them.

Hershey Montessori School Receives ISACS Provisional Member Status

Hershey Montessori School Receives ISACS Provisional Member Status

Oct 8, 2020 | Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

Hershey Montessori School has good news to celebrate. ISACS, the Independent Schools Association of the Central States, has approved Hershey as a provisional member, which is the first step towards becoming an ISACS-accredited school. Hershey’s Steering Committee, which began its work in early 2019, is pleased to share this information with the Hershey community.

The Benefits of ISACS Membership

(From the ISACS website)

ISACS provides a wide variety of professional development programs for its members. Administrators and teachers are given opportunity to attend ISACS conferences, including the Annual Conference, Heads Conference, Leadership Academy in Partnership with the Kellogg School of Management Center for Nonprofit Management, and New Teacher Institute. ISACS also offers topic-specific workshops and convenient webinars for its members.
In addition to these benefits, ISACS staff members provide facilitated conversations with member schools on topics of governance, accreditation, and other areas. Members have access to the National Association of Independent Schools’ DASL tool for data reporting and benchmarking.

Moving Forward

With Provisional Membership approval, Hershey may now begin the process for full accreditation that involves preparation of the self-study report and accreditation visit. Getting to this stage required submission of our Provisional Membership Application (PMA). The PMA provides ISACS with an assessment of an organization that ensures it currently complies with the standards for full ISACS membership. The PMA required Hershey to provide documented evidence of compliance across 52 standards for membership, including our current policies and practices; mission, philosophy, and goals; school community; programs and activities, student services; governance and administration, personnel; and residential programs. We submitted our PMA in February of this year, which was reviewed and approved by the ISACS board in May.

The impetus to pursue ISACS accreditation came from the growing needs of our school. When Hershey’s Upper School was added five years ago, our community became keenly aware that resources and support provided to independent schools by ISACS would support our plans for continued growth. Our leadership then surveyed teachers, staff, and board members for input on the decision to begin the accreditation process. Together, we concluded that membership in ISACS would be of great benefit to our school and community.

Hershey’s ISACS Steering Committee includes Paula Leigh-Doyle, Laurie Ewert-Krocker, Tania Bertolone, Jennifer Finan, Valerie Raines, and Saren Peetz.

We look forward to the added value this organization will bring to our community.

To learn more about Hershey Montessori, visit our about page here

Hershey Launches Reopening Plan

Hershey Launches Reopening Plan

Aug 10, 2020 | Current Parents, Featured Posts, School News | 0 comments

Staff eager to welcome new and returning students to campus

Much of Hershey Montessori School’s staff and faculty spent the summer redesigning their campuses, classrooms, and education platforms. Their goal has been to ensure Hershey’s high-quality programs continue to serve students, staff, and families’ needs, while still maintaining an authentic Montessori approach.

Hershey is slated to reopen both campuses later this month with a redesigned face-to-face learning experience for all students. An enhanced remote learning option is also being offered to adolescent students. The on-campus designs are centered around small cohorts of students and implementing all recommended health practices, while enhancing the experience by availing of as much education in our outdoor environments as possible.

“The aspects we learned from last spring’s unexpected launching of remote learning created the opportunity to greatly enhance our remote learning experience,” said Head of School, Paula Leigh-Doyle. “Significant purchases of new technologies will allow for greater engagement and a more interactive experience for our students.” 

The school recently released its Healthy Reopening Family Manual that provides insight to its plans and protocols for each educational level of the school. The manual also outlines health and safety protocols and various measures that have been implemented to ensure the well-being of Hershey students, staff and community. The highly-detailed plan is the result of collective input from faculty, staff, students, and parents through surveys and feedback, as well as the collaboration of Hershey’s Contingency Planning Team. The manual, already on it’s second edition, will evolve as new information and recommendations are brought to light.

Ohio’s governor is set to provide additional school guidelines on August 13th. Hershey will make an announcement to its school community on August 14th regarding any changes or additional information that needs to be communicated based on the outcome of the governor’s press conference.

We recognize the the state of uncertainty that we all have endured since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many families are still seeking school options. Hershey is still accepting applications for fall enrollment. We are prepared, and we are excited to safely welcome new and returning students this fall!